Neville Longbottom
: Lord Voldemort: "You show spirit and bravery, and you come of noble stock. You will make a very valuable Death Eater. We need your kind, Neville Longbottom." : Neville: "I'll join you when hell freezes over! Dumbledore's Army! ''" : — Neville rejects Voldemort's offer to join him and his followers : '''Neville Longbottom' is a pureblood wizard and the only child of Frank and Alice Longbottom. His parents were well-respected members of the original Order of the Phoenix but were tortured into insanity by four Death Eaters with the Cruciatus Curse. They were placed in St. Mungo's, leaving Neville to be raised by his grandmother. : He began school at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1991 and was sorted into Gryffindor House. While he was initially a shy, clumsy and introverted boy who felt he would never live up to his parents' accomplishments or be good enough to honor their memories, he eventually showed that he possessed enormous courage and perseverance: he became an important member of Dumbledore's Army and fought in several major battles in the Second Wizarding War. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Neville refused Voldemort's personal invitation to join the Death Eaters and destroyed the seventh and final Horcrux when he beheaded the snake Nagini. He co-led the D.A. during his final year at Hogwarts with Luna Lovegood in opposition to Death Eater professors, the Carrows. : After the end of the Second Wizarding War, Neville served as an Auror for six years before becoming Hogwarts' Professor of Herbology and marrying Hannah Abbot from Hufflepuff House. Biography Early Life (1980-1991) Neville was born to Aurors Alice and Frank Longbottom. Moments after his birth, Neville was able to adjust his blankets so that he was swaddled more snugly, but nobody noticed this unusually precocious display of underage magic. The midwife who attended the birth assumed his father had tucked him in more tightly. Neville's parents served as Aurors in the first Order of the Phoenix and were eventually tortured to insanity by four Death Eaters, led by Bellatrix Lestrange and her husnad, Rodolphus. Baby Neville was left to be raised by his grandmother, Augusta. At some point early in his life, he witnessed the death of his grandfather. Neville's grandmother was a stern and formidable woman who was concerned when her grandson didn't exhibit any signs of magic (Neville did, however, show faint signs of magic in him throughout the years, something that all persistently missed). She often chided Neville for not living up to his family's legacy and was partly the reason for Neville's lack of self-confidence in his early years. His relatives feared that Neville might be a Squib, though this was disapproved when his great-uncle Algie was holding him out of a window by his feet when he was offered some lemon meringue and let go. Neville miraculously bounced. Previous to this, there were various attempts to make him show signs of magic, including dropping him off Blackpool pier, where he nearly drowned. Neville inherited his father's wand at the age of eleven when he started to attend Hogwarts. This wand would later be broken in his Fifth year, during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. Hogwarts Years (1991-1998) Neville began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on 1 September, 1991. He felt intimidated by Gryffindor's reputation for bravery and so silently argued for a long time with the Sorting Hat to be placed into Hufflepuff, but the Sorting Hat won in the end, Sorting him into Gryffindor with Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The rest of this period of his life you know from the Books. Dumbledore's Army & The Second Wizarding War On 1 August, 1997 Voldemort took over the Ministry of Magic. While muggleborns were rounded up and Harry, Ron and Hermione went on the run to search for Voldemort's Horcruxes, Neville returned to Hogwarts and, along with Ginny and Luna, restarted Dumbledore's Army, joined by a precocious and cheerful Hufflepuff 4th year named Splendora Speckle (along with many others, such as Seamus Finnigan and Hannah Abbott). The D.A. opposed the new Headmaster, Severus Snape and the two new Death Eater Professors, Alecto and Amycus Carrow, who taught anti-muggle propaganda and the Dark Arts. Neville got in trouble with the Carrows for refusing to practice the Cruciatus Curse on other students as a method of punishment, as well as for standing up to their bigotry and cruelty. The revived D.A. helped protect fellow students from being bullied by the Death Eater teachers and generally rebelled against authority, such as writing "Dumbledore's Army, still recruiting" on the Hogwarts walls and freeing students from detention. Neville, Luna and Ginny also attempted to steal the Sword of Gryffindor from Snape's office but were caught on the way out. In his own way to subvert the Carrows, Snape only game them a detention, sending them into the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid. Neville eventually decided to cease their open rebellion after Michael Corner was caught and brutally tortured for freeing a chained-up first year. Neville was eventually left alone to lead the rebellion efforts, as Luna was dragged off the Hogwarts Express by Death Eaters around Christmas of 1997 to coerce her father into cooperation and Ginny did not return from Holidays since her family were all on the run. By this time, the Carrows were aware of Neville's role in the rebellion and he suffered beatings and torture, as did several of his allies, including Splendora. The Ministry also targeted Neville's grandmother to try to intimidate him, but she evaded capture and went on the run. Eventually, the Carrows realized Neville was the ringleader and decided Hogwarts could do without him. Neville managed to escape, bringing Splendora and what remained of the D.A. to the Room of Requirement, which he was able to turn into a hiding place to connect to the Hog's Head in order to get good from Abeforth Dumbledore. By May, most of the D.A. lived there. On 2 May, 1998, Neville participated in the Battle of Hogwarts alongside the rest of the D.A., the Order of the Phoenix and their allies. Neville's participation was varied; he used plants to fight the Death Eaters after helping Seamus blow up the bridge and even saved Splendora Speckle from being tortured by a particularly sadistic Death Eater. After the cease-fire was called, Neville personally refused Voldemort's invitation to join him after rousing the others not to give up hope and to keep fighting. Because of his tremendous bravery shown on the battlefield, Neville was able to pull the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat, in the process showing himself a true Gryffindor. In a single stroke, he slayed Nagini, Voldemort's final Horcrux. Neville subsequently teamed up with Ron Weasley as defenders of Hogwarts and together managed to hold Fenrir Greyback from getting to some of the younger students until Stanard Mount could get to him. Neville witnessed Harry's final defeat of Voldemort and survived the Second Wizarding War. Neville was awarded with many honors, the greatest of which he counts as his Order of Merlin: First Class and his Chocolate Frog card. Later life Neville worked as an Auror for six years after the Battle of Hogwarts. In 2004, he was honored when he was personally recruited by Professor McGonagall to serve as Hogwarts' new Herbology Professor, a position he eagerly accepted. He married his longtime girlfriend Hannah Abbott, his old D.A. comrade in arms, in 2007. In the summers, he would regularly meet Splendora Speckle at the Leaky Cauldron to catch up. He was happy to hear she would be coming on as Charms professor in 2012. Neville is the named godfather of all of Harry, Ron and Hermione's children, a position he happily accepts. He was known to spoil the children whenever he saw them. He is particularly close to James Potter and Rose Granger-Weasley. As of 2018, he has been teaching at Hogwarts for fourteen years and he has been Head of Gryffindor for the last seven. Physical Appearance Neville is a tall, lean and physically fit man who is said to strongly resemble his mother. He has brown hair and has sported a mustache for the last nine years. Personality and Traits Neville is brave, self-assured and dedicated to protecting others. He is a deeply compassionate and caring man, with a special place in his heart for bullied children, as he was bullied himself when he was younger. Neville loves to laugh and is known as something of a goofball among the Professors and student body alike. He's an easy person to talk to and isn't one to hold a grudge. Neville loves music and dancing, though he's a terrible dancer with two left feet. Magical Abilities and Skills Neville was not an academically strong student in his early years, but this was due in part to using a wand that didn't choose him, poor self-esteem and anxiety caused by the incessant teasing from many of his peers and Professor Snape. When he found confidence and courage in his later years, Neville's magical skills grew to where he could effectively assume the role of leadership in Harry's absence and he was deemed worthy of wielding the sword of Gryffindor. * Herbology: Neville is particularly gifted at Herbology, even being the only Gryffindor in his year to score an "O" in Herbology on his O.W.L. exam. Herbology was not only his best subject but it proved to be his real passion. * Defence Against the Dark Arts: Neville's talent with defensive spells and counter-jinxes allowed him to survive several important battles in the Second Wizarding War. These skills were only compounded during his time serving as an Auror. * Dueling: Neville is a skilled and competent duelist, surviving many battles in the Second Wizarding War. He has dueled experienced Death Eaters like Scabior and even pushed back Fenrir Greyback along with Ron. His skills have only improved since then. Major Relationships Family As Neville's parents, Frank and Alice Longbottom were permanent residents of St. Mungo's for Neville's entire life, until their deaths in 2007 and 2009, respectively. He regularly visited them with his grandmother, where he tried to speak to them and brought them sweets, keeping the wrappers his mother handed back to him in a small box under his bed. Their torture continues to haunt him to this day and he works hard to live up to their memories. Augusta Longbottom Neville was raised by his grandmother Augusta since infancy. This was pivotal in the development of his personality, as his grandmother often expressed her disappointment with her grandson's seeming lack of magical ability and chubby build and she told him to his face that he wasn't worthy of his parent's legacy or memory. Their relationship has cooled since the end of the Second Wizarding War. Neville and his wife, Hannah, still have Christmas Dinner with her every year. Splendora Speckle Neville and Splendora have known each other since 1997, when she was fourteen and refused to leave Hogwarts so she could help out with the D.A. He saved her from a cruciatus curse during the Battle of Hogwarts and ever since, the two have remained in contact as good friends. Neville made it a point to visit her regularly whenever he went through Diagon Alley during his as an Auror and during his summers and holidays when he became a Professor. Now that they're both Professors (he recommended her for the job), the two hang out all the time and are constantly seen together hanging out or talking in their free time. The two often team up to provide activities for the students. He considers her his best friend and is completely unaware of her feelings for him. Minerva McGonagall Minerva McGonagall was Neville's head of House and Transfiguration professor during his time at Hogwarts. She often scolded Neville for his clumsiness and incompetence, though it was actually his lack of self-confidence that frustrated her. McGonagall knew that Neville was capable of more than he seemed and saw that he really was brave and thus encouraged him to work to his full potential. She was also a friend of Neville's grandmother and had known his parents from their days as Aurors. Neville and McGonagall both fought in multiple battles of the Second Wizarding War, including the Battle of Hogwarts, and both survived the war. Six years later, Neville was given the position of Herbology Professor at Hogwarts when Professor Sprout retired. Neville loves and respects McGonagall like she were his own grandmother. He always appreciated her tough love and even now speaks to her with reverence and respect, just like he was still a student in her classes. Neville would be the first person to throw down with someone who is disrespecting her. Hannah Longbottom Neville and Hannah were in the same year at Hogwarts, though she was sorted into Hufflepuff. They worked together regularly in Herbology (one of her best subjects), Neville showed her sympathy after she lost her parents in 1996 and served closely together during the second incarnation of Dumbledore's Army in 1997. They went into hiding together and she fought in the Battle of Hogwarts with him. The two kept in contact after the battle and began dating in 2001. In 2007, the two got married. She bought the Leaky Cauldron in 2010 when it went up for sale and the two moved into the flat above the bar. Neville visits her whenever he can. Harry Potter Neville was one of Harry's roommates throughout their time at Hogwarts and Harry was one of his closest friends. The two went through a lot together, fought in several major battles of the Second Wizarding War side by side and both fought in and survived the Battle of Hogwarts. The two trained as Aurors together and after Ron retired from the force in 2000, Neville became Harry's partner for the next four and a half years, until he became the Herbology Professor at Hogwarts. There are few people in the world Neville trusts, respects or admires than Harry Potter and he is proud to be godfather to all three of his children. Hermione Granger-Weasley Neville met Hermione on the Hogwarts Express when she helped him find his toad Trevor during their First year at Hogwarts. Throughout their time at school, Hermione was consistently one of the only people to treat Neville with respect and kindness and she was always willing to help him with his schoolwork, and she believed in him. After Harry and Splendora, Neville considers Hermione to be one of his best friends. After the Second Wizarding War, they kept in close contact (as they worked together) and Neville is proud to be her children's godfather. Ron Weasley Neville was one of Ron's roommates throughout their time at Hogwarts. Neville became good friends with Ron over time, as Ron encouraged Ron not to let the Slytherins get to him. Ron taught Neville how to talk to girls in the Common Room, despite being rubbish at that very thing himself. The two fought through several major battles of the Second Wizarding War together. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Ron and Neville teamed up to drive Fenrir Greyback away from the Great Hall (where the injured were being held) until Stanard Mount arrived to take on the werewolf head on. After the Second Wizarding War, the two trained to be aurors together (along with Harry) and remained in close contact. Neville is proud to be his children's godfather. Trivia * Neville is left-handed. * Has never been a big fan of alcohol. Drinks a LOT of coffee. * Neville has become a fan of muggle music after being exposed to it by Splendora. Loves the song "What I Like About You" by the Romantics, because it seems to be Splendora's favorite and it's just a fun song to listen to. * His favorite color is purple. * During his First Year, his "O" in Herbology made up for his "P" in Potions. Category:Males Category:Pureblood Category:Class of 1998 Category:Characters Category:Herbology Category:Hogwarts Professors Category:Gryffindor House Category:Wielders of the Sword of Gryffindor